35th AGM and Family History Dayat DartfordSaturday 27th April 2013

The 35th AGM was held at Dartford Science and Technology College, Heath Lane, Dartford..

Stalls

The stalls this year were:

CabSearch - all stationery needs from acid free pockets in various sizes, binders and other storage material plus lots more.

Alfred King - second hand books and ephemera.

Also this year we have managed to book Jean & Derek Garrod with their old postcard collection.

The Society Bookstall and Publications will also be available.

Programme

The programme for the day was as follows:

Time

Details

9.30am

Registration and Coffee

10.00am

Welcome & notices etc.

10.15am

Our first speaker of the day was Ian Waller. Ian is professional genealogist and archive researcher he is a member and Vice-chairman of AGRA (The Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives). He is also the Author of "My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer" and "My Ancestor was a Mormon" and has written many articles for the popular family history press. Ian has given us several talks over the years so it is very nice to welcome him back with one of his new talks: "All the B’s". We may all discover bastards, bigamists or even baronets in our ancestry. A light-hearted look at the effects the Bs had on society and the many records which can give a vivid insight into life at all levels of society.

Click here to read the formal minutes. The AGM was attended by David Cufley (President) and 105 members. The main items were as follows:

3.

Minutes of the 34th AGM

These can be read by clicking here. They were approved without comment.

4.

Matters Arising

Walter Eves reported on a matter that had been brought up in last year's AGM, Item 16 (AOB) - i.e. whether the Society journal could be on-line. Waler explained that back numbers up to 2007 were now available on-line, and that the committee was still considering whether more recent journals might be added.

5.

Accounts

In the absence of a treasurer last year, chairman Walter Eves presented the accounts for 2012 and reported a surplus of £3354 for the year. These were accepted.

6.

Report of the Committee

A detailed report had already been circulated to members with the March 2013 journal. There were no comments or questions from the floor.

7.

Josephine Birchenough Bursary Award

Prizes were awarded in respect of articles that appeared in journal in 2012. The first prize of £75 was awarded to William Rogers for his article 'The postmans Christmas Dollar' (Dec 12). A 2nd prize of £40 was awarded to Janet Rose for her article on 'St Edmunds Pleasance, Dartford' (Sep 12), and joint 3rd prizes to Colin Watkins ('Following Mother', Mar 12) and Colin Willard ('George Frederick Grant Bachelor', Dec 12). The following were commended for their articles: Barbara Phillips, Louise Scott. A full report will appear in the journal(?)

8.

Honorary Members

Joan Field and Ted Finley were both made Honorary Members of the Society (neither were present), and 'Certificates of Thanks' were awarded to Angela Verrals, Isabel Leslie, June Vaisey and Sylvia Carter (only AV was present).

9.

President & Vice Presidents

Appointments are for four years. Walter Eves informed the members that Ron Anthony had been elected as a Vice President, bringing the number of VP's back to four.

10-14.

Election of Society Committee

There were some changes to the Society Committee, mainly to fill vacancies: Vice Chair - Michael Weeks; Treasurer - Pat Gooding. For the current committee, see the Society Officers page.

16.

Motion

"The Society Committee is authorised to institute an administration charge for the processing of payments by cheque. The Society Committee is authorised to decide which payments will incur an administration charge. The administration charge is to be at least £1 and no more than £2. The need and timing of the introduction of any such administration charge to be determined by the Society Committee."Click here to read the background to this motion.

After considerable discussion and comments from the floor a vote was taken, and the motion was passed by a majority of 98 to 2, with 1 abstention.

17.

Any Other Business

A question from the floor asked whether the Society could make members aware of new on-line sources. The Newsletter, Blog and Facebook page were mentioned as possibilities, though it was felt that keping up to date with on-line developments is difficult.

The AGM concluded at 1:25pm.

1.30pm

Lunch

c2.45pm

Our second speaker of the day was Tim Cox. Tim is a retired solicitor, who has a wide range of interests, for example social history, military history, travel, and the visual arts. We first met him last July when he gave a talk at Dartford on the history of the seaside holiday where he almost brought the house down and had a job to escape. So it was agreed by the committee to rebook him for the AGM. His talk this time was: "Soldier, Soldier, will you marry me?: Soldiers’ wives 1660-1900"